All 10 Starbucks Milk Options (Dairy and Plant-Based)

People everywhere love Starbucks for its convenience, its consistency, and its craft coffee creations. But they may love it most of all for the sheer amount of food and drink choices. Starbucks is all about options, including its ten choices in milk:

Dairy

1. Whole Milk

2. 2% Milk

3. Nonfat Milk (aka Skim Milk)

4. Half and Half

5. Heavy Cream

6. Vanilla Sweet Cream

Plant-Based (aka Non-Dairy)

7. Soy Milk

8. Coconut Milk

9. Almond Milk

10. Oat Milk

Whether you base your milk preference on taste, nutrition, or dietary needs, chances are you’ll be able to find what you need at Starbucks. Keep reading as we break down all ten milk options available to you – and everything you need to know about them!

Dairy milk options at Starbucks

As far as your tried-and-true dairy milks and creams, Starbucks offers six different choices: whole milk, 2% milk, nonfat milk, half-and-half (or breve), heavy cream, and vanilla sweet cream. Starbucks’ dairy milks are sourced from various brands depending on location, but its three main dairy suppliers in the US are Dean Foods, Borden Milk, or Good and Gather.  

Whole milk

Whole milk is full-fat milk, with a fat content of 3.25% by weight. This is that rich and creamy milk that makes drinks taste delicious. Because it’s thick and full-bodied, whole milk is the standard type of milk you’ll find in Starbucks’ blended Frappuccinos as well as its flat white. 

2% milk

Starbucks uses 2% milk as its default milk in almost all of their menu items. So essentially any drink made with milk will be made with 2% unless otherwise specified. 2% milk still has some of that good flavor from the fat, but as a reduced fat milk it’s a bit lighter than whole milk and is very versatile – working well in hot or iced drinks. 

Nonfat milk

Nonfat milk, or skim milk, is milk that’s had all of its fat removed. It’s the lightest in consistency and the most mild in flavor, but still foams well and tastes great in lattes and other hot drinks. When people order a “skinny” drink at Starbucks, that means nonfat milk will be used to make it.

Half and half

Half and half (or breve, the fancy Italian name for it), is half heavy cream and half whole milk. Many Starbucks will also just refer to it as cream – so if you ask for cream in your coffee, you’ll get half-and-half. Because it’s a lot heavier than whole, 2%, or nonfat milk, half and half isn’t necessarily ideal for lattes or other espresso drinks, but its consistency is great as an add-in for drip coffee, iced coffee, and cold brew.

Heavy cream

This is as heavy as you can get when it comes to milk at Starbucks. Heavy cream is made of the fat that’s been removed from milk. It’s what Starbucks uses to make that sweet whipped cream that they include in many of their signature drinks, but it’s also a milk option that you can customize your drinks with if you want something extra thick, rich, and creamy.

Vanilla sweet cream

To make their vanilla sweet cream, Starbucks mixes a blend of heavy cream and 2% milk with their vanilla simple syrup. It’s used as a sweetener in drinks like cold brew and iced coffee for added flavor and creaminess.

Here’s a summary of all of the dairy milks available at Starbucks, along with their main characteristics and nutritional facts so you can compare and contrast the best option for you.

Type of Milk	Definition	Nutritional Facts [Per Cup]
Whole Milk	Full-fat milk with 3.25% fat	Calories: 149 Fat: 7.9g Carbs: 12g Sugar: 12g Protein: 7.7g
2% Milk	Reduced-fat milk with 2% fat	Calories: 122 Fat: 4.8g Carbs: 12g Sugar: 12g Protein: 8.1g
Nonfat Milk	Milk with all fat removed	Calories: 83 Fat: 0.2g Carbs: 12g Sugar: 13g Protein: 8.3g
Half and Half	Half heavy cream, half whole milk	Calories: 317 Fat: 28g Carbs: 10g Sugar: 10g Protein: 7.6g
Heavy Cream	Fat that’s been removed from milk	Calories: 816 Fat: 87g Carbs: 6.6g Sugar: 7g Protein: 6.8g
Vanilla Sweet Cream	3 parts heavy cream, 2 parts 2% milk, 1 part vanilla syrup	Calories: 65 Fat: 1g Sugar: 4g *Per splash or serving

Plant-based milk options at Starbucks

If you follow a specific dietary lifestyle or prefer non-dairy milk for nutritional reasons, the good news is that Starbucks has almost as many alternative milk options as they do dairy ones. All of the plant-based milks available at Starbucks are gluten-free, dairy-free, lactose-free, vegan, and non-GMO. If you’re looking for a non-dairy milk alternative, your choices at Starbucks are either soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk.

Soy milk

Derived from whole soybeans, soy milk was actually the first non-dairy milk offered at Starbucks all the way back in 1997. Starbucks uses a brand of soy milk owned by Danone –  it’s a special organic blend formulated exclusively for Starbucks stores. Their soy milk is creamy and flavorful, and it’s sweetened with evaporated cane juice and vanilla flavoring (it also contains other additives, some of which are controversial like Carrageenan). 

Coconut milk

Coconut milk is a rich, fatty, plant-based alternative made from coconuts. Similar to their soy milk, Starbucks uses their own brand of coconut milk: Single Origin Sumatra Coconut Milk. It’s a sweet blend with a coconut cream base, but also contains additives like gums, natural flavors, and carrageenan. Coconut milk doesn’t tend to foam well, but it’s a great creamy addition to cold or iced beverages.

Almond milk

Almond milk is a plant-based milk that’s made from almonds and filtered water. Most Starbucks locations currently use Califia Farms Barista Blend Almond Milk – this brand (like many others) includes ingredients like lecithin, gums, and natural flavors, as well as some added cane sugar. Almond milk is neutral in flavor, lightly creamy in texture, and steams well for hot drinks; Starbucks uses it to make some of their signature drinks like the Honey Almondmilk Latte.

Oat milk

Made from oats and water, oat milk is another popular milk alternative. Starbucks uses Oatly Barista Edition Oatmilk, which contains rapeseed oil and small amounts of other added ingredients. Oat milk is a little sweeter and creamier by nature, resembling your typical dairy milk more closely than the other plant-based options. It foams well, and is also included in some of Starbucks signature drinks like their Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso.

Now that you’ve gotten the run-down on all of the alternative milks Starbucks has to offer, here’s a helpful cheat sheet for a bird’s-eye-view of each milk option’s ingredient list and nutritional facts.

Milk Alternative	Brand	Ingredients	Nutritional Facts [Per Cup]
Soy Milk	Danone Soy Milk [Special Blend]	Organic Soymilk (Filtered Water, Whole Organic Soybeans) Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Calcium Carbonate Natural Vanilla Flavor Sea Salt Carrageenan Sodium Citrate Baking Soda Vitamin A Palmitate Vitamin D2 Riboflavin (B2) Vitamin B12	Calories: 130 Fat: 4g Carbs: 16g Sugars: 13g Protein: 7g
Coconut Milk	Single Origin Sumatra Coconut Milk	Water Coconut Cream Cane Sugar Tricalcium Phosphate Coconut Water Concentrate Natural Flavors Sea Salt Carrageenan Gellan Gum Corn Dextrin Xanthan Gum Guar Gum Vitamin A Palmitate Vitamin D2	Calories: 80 Fat: 5g Carbs: 7g Sugars: 7g Protein: 1g
Oat Milk	Oatly Barista Edition Oatmilk	Oat Base (Water, Oats) Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed Oil Contains 2% or less of: Dipotassium Phosphate Calcium Carbonate Tricalcium Phosphate Sea Salt Dicalcium Phosphate Riboflavin Vitamin A Vitamin D2 Vitamin B12	Calories: 140 Fat: 7g Carbs: 16g Sugars: 7g Protein: 1g
Almond Milk	Califia Farms Barista Blend Almond Milk	Almondmilk (Water, Almonds) Cane Sugar Calcium Carbonate Sunflower Lecithin Sea Salt Guar Gum Natural Flavor Gellan Gum Potassium Citrate	Calories: 60 Fat: 4g Carbs: 6g Sugars: 5g Protein: 2g

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